1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for regenerating a recording medium by removing printed portions of a recording medium produced by such printing devices as electrophotography, printers, and facsimiles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
From a natural resource preservation point of view, the recycling technique has been drawing increasing attention as an earth-friendly technique. As copying machines have so far spread into every field of activities such as companies and offices, used paper out of their copied paper is also under research for its recycling technique, backed by a desire for effective utilization of the resources.
Copied paper in many cases must be kept in secret, so that copied paper is once cut into small pieces and then regenerated into pulp. However, this method would result in so short pulp fibers that the regenerated paper obtained is quite easy to break. Further, the regenerating equipment involved is so complex and large that regeneration of used paper often could not be achieved without relying on particular expert dealers.
As a regeneration technique to solve such problems, a print removing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 4-89271 in which printed portions are removed without cutting the paper into small pieces. This apparatus removes printed portions through steps of applying a cleaning liquid onto the surface of used paper by rollers and then subjecting the paper surface to physical treatment.
However, the above-mentioned apparatus would cause separated toner to float in the cleaning liquid and be readsorbed to the used paper, adversely resulting in insufficiency in print removal.